


Orange, red and blue (and you)

by Elizandre



Series: Tropevember! [18]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 30 Days of Writing, Akaashi Keiji Is So Done, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Bokuto Koutarou is a Mess, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Little Shit, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Rare Pairings, Soulmates, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Tropes, Tropevember, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Tsukishima Kei-centric, along with other marks and bruises, but he tries, no beta reader we die like men, they are trying their best, tropevember challenge, what you write appears on your soulmates skin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27716081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elizandre/pseuds/Elizandre
Summary: People’s soulmarks come in when they turn 16 - the ability to write on your skin and have it appear on your soulmate’s is universal - but your soulmate cannot reply until they are also 16.He was 14 when the writing first appeared in illegible yellow, then vibrant orange ink; his soulmate’s name was Bokuto Koutarou.It was two months later when the red scribbles started to showed up; his second soulmate’s name was Kuroo Tetsurou.It was over a year later when the dark blue whirls joined them; his third soulmate’s name was Akaashi Keiji.It’s been weeks now since he turned 16, and he hasn’t left a single message on his skin; he’s the fourth soulmate and his name is Tsukishima Kei.(Written for Tropevember 2020, Day 17&18: Polyamory and Soulmate AU)
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Series: Tropevember! [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995202
Comments: 33
Kudos: 132





	Orange, red and blue (and you)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay... so this work has been in the back of my head for MONTHS NOW! And I’m finally getting to write it!
> 
> It won’t be as long as my ‘Can I Sit Here?’ Fic, but I am hoping to make it a pretty decent length :) though fear not! I am not abandoning my other fic for this one!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy the first chapter and excuse the angst! 
> 
> Feel free to Kudos and Comment, but if thats not your thing, its cool <3 xoxo

Tsukishima was 14 when the words first showed up in wide, bubbly writing - written at first in a bright, yellow pen that was extremely hard to decipher, then in a vibrant orange which was much more legible - the person excitedly explaining that their name is Bokuto Koutarou, they live in Tokyo, their favourite colour is yellow, favourite animal is an owl and that they are super excited to meet him.

Tsukki remembers the strong mix of fear and elation he felt when Yamaguchi pointed out the yellow smears on his arm to him, not that he revealed his feelings to anyone. Calmly decoding the large, sprawling writing that curled up his arm, the fear gave way to happiness brimming just under the surface, along with a small pang of pain at making his soulmate wait another 2 years before he would be able to talk to them.

He could only hope that his soulmate would be willing to wait for him...

2 months went by and Tsukishima got used to leaving his sleeves rolled up in order to catch the random, mundane notes his soulmate would leave for him, making him smile more than he had in ages. Small reminders, dumb messages from his soulmate’s friends, talk of volleyball... he didn’t care what the words said, just that he was getting them and that his soulmate cared enough to continue contacting him, even though he had no proof that anyone was even reading his notes. 

Similarly, marks and bruises started to show up in random places - places that he knew he hadn’t bruised.

When he went to his mother about it, worried that something was wrong, she only smiled indulgently at him, explaining that more than just words were shared across soulbonds. Schools typically tended to teach about writing to your soulmates - using soulbonds to explain about stranger danger, among other things - instead of explaining that EVERY mark that appears on your body will also appear on your mate’s. That includes bruises, tattoos - and yes, ink.

Realising this, he started to associate certain marks and bruises with things Bokuto would tell him - like how he got flat bruises on his knees a lot, and his palm was often red and purple (war wounds from volleyball practice), or the grey smudges that would flow from the tip of his pinky finger, to the swell of flesh above his wrist (charcoal from art classes and drawing, which he expressed an interest in - much more than any academic studies like maths or science).

And while sometimes people would point them out, Tsukki being one of the few in his class that had a soulmate more than 2 years older than him, more often than not people would just smile at the marks, happy for him and his soulmate.

Or at least, they used to smile at him...

He was once again in class, 2 months after his soulmate’s first words showed up, when Yamaguchi leaned over to prod at his arm with wide eyes, whispering to Tsukki when he looked at him in annoyance, “what’s with the red ink?”

Frowning down in confusion, Kei looked at his arm, only to see that his best friend was right. Where orange was usually the sole colour covering his skin (with the occasional bit of yellow or black biro thrown in), his soulmate had never written in red ink before, which Yamaguchi knew.

Tilting his head to get a good look at the writing, where it was squished between the wavy, orange scribbles of Bokuto, his eyes widened as he read... 

Because THIS wasn’t Bokuto...

Where Bokuto’s scrawl is big and bubbly, fitting his exuberant personality that Tsukishima has been able to pick up on through his random messages, the red writer had thin, scratchy, barely legible handwriting.

His name is Kuroo Tetsurou, he also lives in Tokyo, his favourite colour is red, favourite animal is a cat... and today is his 16th birthday.

Two soulmates... 

He didn’t know of anyone else in school that had two soulmates! I mean, he’d heard that it happens sometimes, but all the scientists say that it’s an incredibly rare phenomenon: a polybond.

Not sure what to do with the information he’d just been handed, he scribbled a quick note to Yamaguchi, explaining what had happened, and spent the rest of the lesson in a haze, watching as his two soulmates conversed.

When he got home that night, he pulled Akiteru to the side, asking him about polybonds and - with a little pushing - revealed his new, red soulmate to his brother.

Naturally, his brother was ecstatic for him, the two pouring over the internet for more information about polybonds and how they worked - and when they came across some of the more negatively inclined sites, Akiteru was quick to reassure his brother that they were wrong and that having two mates is a gift.

And he believed him.

Even when he started rolling his sleeves down at school to hide his soulmates words from the prying eyes of his classmates, or had to sit through an awkward couple of sex ed classes where polyamory was only discussed once - and that was because a cruel classmate asked the teacher a question about it with a significant glance his way, to which the teacher responded, “polybonds are so unlikely to happen that we don’t teach about it... frankly they are difficult to talk about since they are so rare. It’s not necessary.”

His mother had rang the school in a fury that night, after discovering that her son learning about having safe sex with his soulmates was deemed ‘not necessary’ by the school, and after that the ‘freak’ comments died down a little.

For the next year at least...

He was 15 and in his final year of junior high, getting ready to move schools the next year and finally be able to talk to his two soulmates Bokuto and Kuroo - who still had no idea that there was anyone other than the two of them in the bond - when it showed up.

Over the past year he’d gained a new sympathy for people in polybonds, having researched them extensively after his own appeared.

The idea that some people would have to wait 3, 5, maybe even 10 years to meet their soulmates, knowing all the while that they are out there and have no idea that their youngest member even exists... it’s a sad reality for many - knowing that the two oldest soulmates in a polybond will meet each other first and often fall in love with each other, while the youngest can do nothing but sit back and wait till the day that they can finally talk to them... Tsukishima pities them.

At least he only has 2 years to wait, Akiteru would tell him comfortingly, soothing his brother’s worries.

Though, he can’t pretend that he wasn’t jealous, seeing his two soulmates making plans to meet up. 

The two exchanged phone numbers and consequently didn’t use their arms to converse as much anymore, meaning that Tsukishima was suddenly missing out on huge chunks of their lives... and that hurt... but he’d already managed to deal with it for a year - he only has another 9 months to go until his birthday - and then he could introduce himself to them... it would be fine!

Or at least, he thought it would be... until dark blue showed up in December.

His name is Akaashi Keiji, he also lives in Tokyo (and is attending Bokuto’s high school, though he hadn’t joined the volleyball team at the time), his favourite colour is blue and his favourite animal is also an owl... and today is his 16th birthday.

Another one... holy shit, another one!

One who had been in the polybond alone the same way he had! Someone who might have some kind of idea that he is there! That might suggest that they are waiting on one more...

But it never happened.

Akaashi never spared a second thought for their youngest soulmate, the same way that Bokuto and Kuroo didn’t, despite Akaashi being living proof that they have been wrong before - hell, maybe there’s someone younger than him in the bond! Tsukki doesn’t know, but he’s not going to rule it out either... the way his soulmates have.

He hides his arms from that point onwards, wearing long sleeves and pants during sports, never wearing shorts in the summer... I mean, sure, his classmates find out about his third soulmate regardless, but he doesn’t let their comments bother him. 

Or at least... he doesn’t let them see that it bothers him.

“Loner”, “freak”, “weirdo”, “why would they want you?”, “You bring nothing to the bond”, “they would be better off without you”... 

You think he hasn’t realised that on his own?

He begins to wear long-sleeves clothing, even at home, fending off his mother and brothers’ questions about how his soulmates are doing.

He stopped researching polybonds and how people had made them work when he saw one day that the three of them had met up in Tokyo - something cracking painfully in his chest when he realised that they were happy without him...

Because what WOULD he bring to the bond? Athletic abilities? Bokuto had that sorted. Sarcasm and witty comebacks? Kuroo was the king of those. Intelligence and good grades? Akaashi covered that... what good was he?

His brother wasn’t happy when he told him that, the two of them exploding one night when Akiteru wouldn’t stop bugging him about his soulmates. Naturally, he didn’t believe that for a second and accused Tsukishima of being a coward - of taking the easy way out.

“If I had a polybond like you...” he’d started, only to be interrupted by Tsukishima’s vicious voice.

“What? You’d what, Akiteru?! Be bullied mercilessly? Be constantly having to hide your marks for fear that someone would find out your soulmates’ identities and try to contact them?! Be borderline depressed because they are PERFECTLY happy without you in their lives and if the bond broke tomorrow they wouldn’t mourn you like you’d mourn them?!” He’d yelled out.

“Because you’re not giving them the chance to mourn you!” His brother had replied, equally as fiercely. “You’re not even giving them the chance to prove that they can be good soulmates to you! They aren’t the ones giving up on you, YOU’RE GIVING UP ON THEM!”

Silence had hung in the air after his brother’s explosion of anger and Tsukishima had done all that he could think to do...

“Get out. NOW.”

His brother had tried to apologise, but the damage was already done.

Tsukishima became more and more reclusive, more bitter and salty, pushing people away to protect himself. The only one who really stuck around - read: refused to leave - was Yamaguchi, his friend sticking by him through it all.

It was no surprise really that the freckled boy followed him to Karasuno, a high school that is much further away from their houses, but that none of their classmates from junior high are attending, though he did have one condition when he followed him there: “we’re joining the volleyball team.”

And so they had. With only weeks till Tsukishima turned 16, the two joined Karasuno’s volleyball team - despite the blond starting a row with an energetic ginger in the hopes that their seniors wouldn’t let him into the club - and Tsukishima wore long sleeves to every practice.

And it was nice! Peaceful, even...

Sure, Hinata and Kageyama annoyed him like nothing else could, but they were good enough friends. Yachi was an angel sent from the heavens that Yamaguchi fell for instantly, despite them not being soulmates - not that Tsukishima was judging considering he wants nothing to do with his own - and the seniors were good to him, despite his... attitude problems.

His 16th birthday came and went in September - very shortly after Bokuto’s - without fanfare. He was getting good grades, suffering through volleyball for his best friend, and his soulmates were none the wiser to his existence.

Things were looking pretty good for him, all things considered.

Or so he thought.

The problem with always wearing long sleeves, even at home, is that he misses out on a lot of his soulmates’ conversations. 

And while he wouldn’t really consider that a problem, it meant that he was struck frozen when he took his shirt off in the middle of October, getting ready to shower before bed, only to find large, obnoxious, orange writing scribbled across his chest.

“HELLO?!?!?! ARE YOU THERE?!?! 4th SOULMATE?!?!”

What... HOW?!

Tearing off the rest of his clothes, he searched his body frantically for the start of the conversation, dismissing small doodles from Bokuto, chemistry notes from Kuroo and musical notes from Akaashi.

... There!

On his arm in Kuroo’s red, barely legible scratch, he saw the words, ‘ah shit, I see blood! You guys okay?’

Bokuto’s massive scrawl came next, saying ‘not me! AKAAASHIII! WHY ARE YOU HURT?!? Which is closely followed by Akaashi’s beautiful, loopy handwriting. 

‘I’m not hurt, Bokuto... are you sure it wasn’t one of you?’

Looking around, Tsukishima winced when he saw the blood they meant, now dried across the top of his shin from where he caught a bit of wood earlier when doing diving drills at practice.

Shit... SHIT!

Frantically skimming though more of the conversation, his stomach started to churn when he saw that they all took turns trying to wipe the blood away to see if it was from them and they just hadn’t noticed, but the blood didn’t budge.

Fuck! It’s the one way to prove which soulmate wrote what; only the person who wrote it can remove it. No matter how much Tsukishima scrubbed at his skin - which he tried, A LOT - he could never get rid of the marks on his body until his soulmates wiped them off - which they usually all do before bed so that they have a ‘clean slate’ for the next day.

If none of them could wash the blood away... it’s irrefutable proof that there is someone else in the bond.

Fuck, why didn’t he think of that?!

Scanning across his body, he fought off waves of nausea as he continued to read the conversation, until he got to Kuroo’s question in even messier writing than normal.

‘So... there’s a fourth person?’

‘It would seem so’ Akaashi had replied, Tsukishima wanting to snort at the sarcasm he could practically feel radiating from the words.

‘OMG HELLO?! HELLO!!!’ Bokuto had then started to write, the words slowly getting larger and larger as they travelled across different parts of his body - probably in the hopes that he would notice at least one of them.

‘Are we sure this is what’s happening rn?’ Kuroo had questioned inbetween Bokuto’s sprawling calls.

‘Is there any other explanation?’ Navy swirls had replied.

‘Not really... well shit. COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!’ Red scribbles said across his bicep, with navy blue lines crossing through them.

‘Thats creepy Kuroo.’

‘Oh... you think so?’

Twin yeses in orange and blue had replied, before it seems Bokuto had gone back to his task of covering as much of his body in orange ink as he possibly could.

A small, ‘Bokuto stop,’ in blue was written above his bellybutton, along with the words, ‘they will talk to us when they are ready.’

‘Yeah. We know they are there now - worst comes to worst, we write on their face till they—’ red had been in the middle of writing, before being obviously interrupted by blue.

‘No Kuroo. Let them come to us... and if you are reading this, then hello 4th soulmate, it’s a pleasure to meet you.’

And damn if that didn’t hurt.

The writing on the face threat worried Tsukishima more than he would have liked to admit, but he trusts that Akaashi will wrangle the two troublemakers.

He let out a mirthless laugh as he turned the shower on, staring blankly at the words across his torso.

...If only they would just forget about him, he thought, knowing how ironic it is that just a year earlier he had been begging for the exact opposite. 

There’s nothing he can do now, except from clean the blood off his shin and pray they leave him alone. 

He’ll have to be a lot more careful from now on.


End file.
